AMC: The Moving/Not Moving Thread

[asa]

I've enjoyed Susan Lucci as much as the next person but if she decided to stay in NYC and leave AMC, it might be a good thing for both entities. I know we can all decry the death of the classic soap opera but it's a new era and I think it's been an hindrance to AMC to keep Lucci around but they can't outright fire her because it would be their death. Lucci has enough fans, enough connections, and enough money to do something else and AMC would be wise to snatch up a bunch of young talent, see what works, and reshape the soap as something younger and edgy. Yes, most of us probably wouldn't watch (I don't watch except for occasional glances at Stause's lovely rack--I am a male after all) but it may mean the survival for the soap. It doesn't surprise me the youth of the show are eager to move to L.A.--they may be able to make something for themselves in a younger AMC landscape not to mention in L.A.

I think when all is said and done, AMC will have a good mix of respected and loved vets and the new youthful characters that could help redefine the show (for better or for worse). Imagine AMC without a focus on Kendall, Zach, and Ryan? Imagine a show that doesn't have to try to painfully cram Erica into storylines that just don't do the character, Lucci, or the show justice? Sometimes change is good and this could mean brighter days for AMC. It can't get much lower/worse other than cancellation and this move signals to me that ABC is willing to try to make AMC work because entertainment--as with most things--is cyclical and all it takes is that one storyline; that one character; that one talked about moment to swing viewers back to soap operas. I think there's still a place for daytime soap operas, especially with prime soap operas springing up left and right and doing well (Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, the rebirth of 90201, et. al.). What's missing from daytime is they're still playing to a conservative audience--an audience that gave up on daytime soap operas when gay storylines and interracial relationships became part of the norm. It's time to say good riddance to that archetype and to go modern without being brash.

[UKBoi]

I couldnt agree more with everything you just said. Especially the part I bolded. I think this could be great for AMC. No cast member is bigger than the show (and at the risk of repeating myself), look at DAYS' recent rebirth. It's the only show up on this time last year and what have they done? Gone back to basics, dropped sensational gimmicks like explosions and tornados...focused on newbies tied to existing characters rather than over-relying on the vets. I think if Pratt really is going to turn AMC into a slice of Melrose Place in daytime (he's been heading that way for a while, it seems) then it could be just what the show needs to turn it around.

[MarkH]

Just to be clear, DOOL is the success story of the year! But Days didn't become the "savior"...it did not feature the next Luke and Laura moment. All Days did was claw back some audience share, and hold on to it. I am not minimizing this. In a declining market, this is REMARKABLE.

But it was NOT "rebirth"...at least not from a commercial perspective. It was life extension, pure and simple.

[DRW50]

Even if Melrose had a place in daytime, which I have big doubts on, nothing he has done at AMC is close to the best or even the mediocre of Melrose. The stories are a mess, the characters change direction at the drop of a hat, and most of them are almost impossible to care about. Pratt not only manages to do a bangup job of introducing new characters who are dead weight, he can't even sustain the few characters he once had a good grip on. What he's done to Annie is horrible to watch. Stories are started and then stopped too fast for viewers to be invested. So much pointless, gratuitous death -- Josh, Stuart, Greenlee (real or not).

His idea of Melrose in daytime seems to be hiring Jamie Luner and having her play a man-hungry dim bulb.

One of the reasons DAYS has improved is Gary Tomlin, who knows and loves the show, is there. There is no one like that at AMC now.

There's also nothing very daring or anti-conservative about the stories on AMC now. Women are obsessed with babies and men. Gays do not exist, unless they are turned straight or have a kid with their brother-in-law. The only story for black characters revolves around Randi the dead wood.

[Jonathan]

I don't know if I necessarily agree with everything you say. I think All My Children has always been a modern soap opera, reflecting the times and often ahead of its time.

The main problem is story. It just plain sucks. I've stuck with the show mainly because I have my favorite characters/actors and every once in a while they'll do something interesting or have some great one-liners that make me chuckle. These are the little nuggets that I take pleasure in and for me are a glimmer of hope for better, more consistent storytelling.

But in the state that the show is in right now, if you were to take away Erica, I'll stop watching because there is nothing left for me to enjoy. The only way the show would keep me as a viewer is if totally rocked in the story department and was the best damn written show on TV.

I just can't watch this show without Erica and I know eventually there is going to be a time where we will have to say goodbye to her. But for me, a poorly written show without Erica will be much easier to give up.

[Faulkner]

Totally co-sign. There's no indication with what's been on-screen (at least before I stopped watching) that the move would somehow re-ignite the show. The writing has been silly and downright sloppy for a while now.

Plus, AMC is just not a Melrose-kind of show. It actually sort of tried to be that during the height of Fusion, and we all know how that worked out.

[Vee]

Melrose Place is Melrose Place. Its plots moved on an weekly, primetime basis, which was streamlined and heightened in a way that daytime is not, by nature of its daily format and more layered, historical storytelling. I deeply loved MP, but it was a particular kind of show. Charles Pratt already tried to do his MP-style storytelling at GH, where suddenly all the women began to get in catfights every other day, calling each other "whore" or "slut" a la Amanda Woodward and Taylor McBride, with a heaping helping of sexual titillation (Faith kissing Courtney for no reason). This kind of hyperkinetic kitsch, heightened reality worked for Spelling soaps like Melrose Place, with a primetime episodic format, and the temporal compression of narrative time that requires. But the Pratt/Spelling house style applied to daytime looks like your grandma dressed up like Lil' Kim. On meth.

In a less harsh ratings climate, and with better writing, AMC could certainly survive without Zach, and probably Kendall. Today, with the ratings and writing being what they are, I have my doubts that it could handle losing Kendall. And any AMC without Erica is dead.

[Jonathan]

It's almost here. I'm nervous!

[Pine Charles]

I miss Derek, too.

I loved Derek & Mimi.

[bellcurve]

LMAO! BEST. POST. EVER.

And I love Anne-Marie Johnson.

[Jonathan]

I need names! Give me names!

[AmandainNC28655]

Jonathan.. I agree. I'm on my lunch break and logged in at my desk curious to see if the list of who is definitely staying and going was posted.

[marceline]

I know they said we'd find out after Labor Day but they didn't specify when after Labor Day did they? I mean do we have the date of when the announcement will be made?

[Jonathan]

I can't recall. I thought the spokesperson said they wouldn't share names until the 8th. Or maybe it was after the 8th? I forget. I'm sure the quote is on this thread somewhere.

[LeClerc]

I really don't see there being an official list being put out. Why would they? SOD is implying that negotiations will continue until the last minute (December) with some stars, so there must be some big names that have not said "yes" yet. They aren't going to put out a press release if they can't put Susan Lucci or David Canary or probably even Alicia Minshew's name on it.

I can't imagine that TPTB at AMC/ABC are running around right now trying to get a list together yelling "The fans! The fans! We must get this information out to our loyal fans right away!"